Former F1 champion Niki Lauda to spend £17million buying back Niki the airline he founded

FORMER Formula One champion Niki Lauda will acquire Niki, the airline he founded, after a meeting of its Austrian creditors unanimously supported his bid, the carrier's Austrian and German administrators said on Tuesday.

Herr Lauda's successful bid scuppers a previously agreed sale of Niki to British Airways owner IAG, which was thrown into doubt this month after two courts ruled that the insolvency proceedings had to move to Austria from Germany.

That paved the way for other interested parties, such as Ryanair and Herr Lauda, to bid for the carrier, which most recently was part of failed airline Air Berlin.

"In the early hours of this morning Laudamotion GmbH emerged from a transparent bidding process as the best bidder," the administrators, Ulla Reisch and Lucas Floether, said in a brief joint statement, referring to a company controlled by Herr Lauda.

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Niki filed for insolvency in Berlin last month after Germany's Lufthansa scrapped plans to buy the Austrian arm of insolvent Air Berlin.

After hurried talks to ensure Niki retained valuable runway slots, British Airways owner IAG agreed with the German administrator to buy the business for €20million (£17million), provide €16.5 million in liquidity and make it part of its low-cost unit Vueling.